“Don’t stretch your hamstrings” is the opposite advice to that given to the vast majority of athletes, especially runners. There is good reason to stop before you stretch, and consider why your hamstrings feel tight in the first place before determining how to treat tight hamstrings.

I received a message about a hamstring injury on one of the forums that I moderate. The message came from a father who was concerned about his 12YO son, an avid athlete. While stretching his hamstrings, he heard a “pop” and immediately felt pain at his butt and behind his knee. A few days had passed and the boy was still having hamstring pain while sitting and walking.

The first thing someone may tell him is to stretch, and that’s the last thing that should be done. He needs to get an MRI to make sure that his hamstring tendon isn’t torn. If that’s okay, then he needs to look more in depth to find out why his hamstrings are tight.

Why Your Hamstrings May Be Overstretched

Very often your hamstrings will feel tight even though they are actually being overstretched! Your hamstrings originate on your posterior pelvis, and one of your quadriceps muscles originates on the front of your pelvis. The quadriceps muscle is Rectus Femoris which goes from your pelvis, over your kneecap and down to your shin bone.

When your Rectus Femoris is tight, it will pull your pelvis down in the front. This causes your pelvis to move up in the back, and your hamstrings get overstretched. Your hamstrings feel tight, but if you then try to stretch them, you could tear them. In fact, if they are tight enough, you could actually pull the tendon away from the bone.

I’ve found that your hamstrings will often release on their own when you treat your quadriceps. As your quadriceps aren’t pulling down on the front of your pelvis, it allows your posterior pelvis to go down. As your posterior pelvis goes down, it releases the over-stretch from your hamstrings.

How to Treat Tight Hamstrings

Pay attention to tight quadriceps when deciding how to treat tight hamstrings.

In this picture, I’m using the Julstro Power Roller to push (don’t roll) from the top of my thigh to just above my knee.

I’ve found that the Power Roller gives more focused strength than using a foam roller. Also, tools that have beads that roll can’t go deep enough to reach the lower fibers of this thick muscle.

You’ll find a big spasm, which feels like a bump, at the point shown in this picture. When you go over the spasm, it will hurt so start out slow and build up strength to go deeper.

Also, treating your quadriceps will not only help release your hamstrings, but it is also the treatment for knee pain. This helps you eliminate two painful conditions, not just one! This is also one of the series of treatments for releasing low back, hip, and groin pain. It’s an especially good self-treatment to learn. You can also do this treatment while sitting in a chair with your knee slightly bent.

How to Treat Tight Hamstrings While Treating Spasms

AFTER you treat your quadriceps, then you can treat your hamstrings. The picture on the left not only treats the spasms, but it also stretches your hamstrings.

I prefer the Julstro Perfect Ball over any other type of ball. The Perfect Ball is solid in the middle and soft on the outside, giving great pressure without hurting the muscle.

Put the Perfect Ball on a hard surface such as a wooden stool or corner of a desk.

Rest your hamstrings on top of the ball, moving until you find the spasm in the muscle.

Finish by straightening your leg which will stretch your hamstrings. Go slowly and don’t strain the muscle, just move to a “hurts so good” level.

Treat Yourself to Pain-Free Living shows you how to treat spasms from your head to your feet. If you are in pain, or if you love sports and your joints feel tight, this book will become your favorite “tool!”

Now, you know how to treat tight hamstrings.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Comments (3)

Sheri

Len Makila

A very good friend of mine reviewed your information about, “Don’t stretch your hamstrings”.
He is asking, have you heard anything on a similar topic; that anti-biotics can cause tendon and muscle ruptures that comes from the cumulative effect it can cause over years.

It is an interesting question and I thought you may have heard something.

Dr. Steve Chaney

Dear Len,
That is an interesting question. I have not seen anything on that topic in the clinical literature, so I cannot comment on it. That sounds like the kind of information that would come from clinical experience rather than a controlled clinical study.
Dr. Chaney

A Sleeping position that has your head tilted puts pressure on your spinal cord and will cause headaches. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times, and the reasoning is so logical it’s easy to understand.

Your spinal cord runs from your brain, through each of your vertebrae, down your arms and legs. Nerves pass out of the vertebrae and go to every cell in your body, including each of your organs. When you are sleeping it is important to keep your head, neck, and spine in a horizontal plane so you aren’t straining the muscles that insert into your vertebrae.

The graphic above is a close-up of your skull and the cervical (neck) vertebrae. Your nerves are shown in yellow, and your artery is shown in red. Consider what happens if you hold your head to one side for hours. You can notice that the nerves and artery will likely be press upon. Also, since your spinal cord comes down the inside of the vertebrae, it will also be impinged.

In 2004 the Archives of Internal Medicine published an article stating that 1 out of 13 people have morning headaches. It’s interesting to note that the article never mentions the spinal cord being impinged by the vertebrae. That’s a major oversight!

Muscles merge into tendons, and the tendons insert into the bone. As you stayed in the tilted position for hours, the muscles actually shortened to the new length. Then you try to turn over, but the short muscles are holding your cervical vertebrae tightly, and they can’t lengthen.

The weight of your head pulls on the vertebrae, putting even more pressure on your spinal cord and nerves. Plus, the tight muscles are pulling on the bones, causing pain on the bone.

Your Pillow is Involved in Your Sleeping Position and the Causes of Headaches

The analogy I always use is; just as pulling your hair hurts your scalp, the muscle pulling on the tendons hurts the bone where it inserts. In this case it is your neck muscles putting a strain on your cervical bones. For example, if you sleep on your left side and your pillow is too thick, your head will be tilted up toward the ceiling. This position tightens the muscles on the right side of your neck.

Dozing off while sitting in a car waiting for someone to arrive, or while working for hours at your desk can also cause headaches. The pictures above show a strain on the neck when you fall asleep without any support on your neck. Both of these people will wake up with a headache, and with stiffness in their neck.

The best sleeping position to prevent headaches is to have your pillow adjusted so your head, neck, and spine are in a horizontal line. Play with your pillows, putting two thin pillows into one case if necessary. If your pillow is too thick try to open up a corner and pull out some of the stuffing.

Sleeping on Your Back & Stomach

If you sleep on your back and have your head on the mattress, your spine is straight. All you need is a little neck pillow for support, and a pillow under your knees.

Stomach sleeping is the worst sleeping position for not only headaches, but so many other aches and pains. It’s a tough habit to break, but it can be done. This sleeping position deserves its own blog, which I will do in the future.

Treating the Muscles That Cause Headaches

All of the muscles that originate or insert into your cervical vertebrae, and many that insert into your shoulder and upper back, need to be treated. The treatments are all taught in Treat Yourself to Pain Free Living, in the neck and shoulder chapters. Here is one treatment that will help you get relief.

Take either a tennis ball or the Perfect Ball (which really is Perfect because it has a solid center and soft outside) and press into your shoulder as shown. You are treating a muscle called Levator Scapulae which pulls your cervical vertebrae out of alignment when it is tight.

Hold the press for about 30 seconds, release, and then press again.

Your pillow is a key to neck pain and headaches caused by your sleeping position. It’s worth the time and energy to investigate how you sleep and correct your pillow. I believe this blog will help you find the solution and will insure you have restful sleep each night.

Wishing you well,

Julie Donnelly

About The Author

Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. She has worked extensively with elite athletes and patients who have been unsuccessful at finding relief through the more conventional therapies.

She has been widely published, both on – and off – line, in magazines, newsletters, and newspapers around the country. She is also often chosen to speak at national conventions, medical schools, and health facilities nationwide.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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The statements in these articles have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Any Health Care changes should be made only after consulting with your Doctor and licensed Health Care Advisor.

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